Learning the Plan

You know that question that floats around internet memes and getting-to-know-you games of "If you could have lunch with any one person, living or dead, who would it be?"  Well, today I finally came up with a good answer to the question.

I would give my pinky toe to meet the original owner of this house.  I'd want to have her over during the Spring or Summer, when the plants in the yard are really doing their stuff.  I'd make us iced tea and cute little sandwiches with cucumbers and cream cheese.  And I'd spend hours talking to her about the yard.

We'd discuss what bits of the garden are part of her original plan, and what bits are the result of squirrels who have replanted bulbs with their own landscape design dreams.  We'd discuss if there's a reason that most of the rhododendrons in the front yard are red, but the one under the living room window is purple.  We'd discuss the plant between the roses in the front yard, and whether it's supposed to be a tree or a bush.  She'd chastise me for allowing the lawn to become overrun with dandelions, and I'd let her because I deserve it.  At some point she would (under her breath, because I'm sure she's a lady) curse her offspring for the atrocities they committed to the yard once she had passed.  We'd share a chuckle about the weeds in the back yard that disguise themselves as beautiful trees.

Last year I dug into the yard with gusto.  It was a pretty big job - the weeds were trying to overrun the place, and the shrubs desperately needed to be pruned and cared for.  I wasn't able to make as much progress as I would have liked - between the size of the yard waste bin and the fact that I was growing a human life I was limited in how much I could accomplish.  I got the front yard into decent shape, but barely touched the back yard. 

The plan I put into my brain was that this year would be about maintaining the front yard and whipping the back yard into shape.  Then next summer would be adding new things to the mix, including the garden.

I've now amended my plan.  This summer the back yard is still the primary focus, and I will hopefully be able to get started on the garden next year, but it's going to take a while to figure out what I've really got going on in the yard outside of the garden area, and I can't start changing it until I know what it is I'm changing.

Last year we had our bushes - mostly rhododendrons and roses, a few random things, a couple of which I think are bamboo-ish.  There were some daffodils and tulips randomly scattered throughout the yard and I don't know if there was any rhyme or reason to them or if they are the result of the squirrels.

This year we've got irises.  Huge, beautiful irises.  Some of them in a spot where I pulled away the plastic weed-protector in the front yard this year, some of them that randomly popped through in the back yard.  Who knows what else is lurking out there?  Just pulling back all that damn plastic that was put down to prevent the weeds could unleash a whole cornucopia of stuff.

So now we just sit back and watch the yard unfold.  It's quite beautiful to watch it develop.

Comments

[susan]

I can relate to this post. We're in our second year of watching the yard bloom, and trying to keep up with all of the bush and fruit tree trimming. It's so interesting to see what appears, and try to decide if it's intentional or an out-of-control transplant.